• Travel

    Hakone Open-Air Museum in Japan: Soak Your Feet While Viewing Art

    October 5, 2024 - By 

    The Hakone Open-Air Museum, first opened in 1969, allows for a nice walk and has a very comfortable hot foot bath. One of the main highlights is supposed to be the Picasso Pavilion, but my favourite part of this attraction was the foot bath. The museum is open from 9 AM to 5 PM daily. Adult tickets are JP¥2000 (~US$13.51 in 2023) each. As I already mentioned, my favorite part of the visit was sitting with my feet in a hot foot bath while gazing out at the enjoyable scenery of grass and sculptures. You sit on a wooden bench…

  • Travel

    An October Day at Universal Studios in Osaka, Japan

    July 26, 2024 - By 

    In 2023, our tickets for Universal Studios in Osaka, Japan, were bought as a group of 6. It sent a single .pdf with 6 tickets. Unlike at Disney, we could not scan the tickets to our individual apps. We had a group talk the night before about what to do if the first pair to go managed to keep the rest of us from scanning the remaining 4 tickets in that .pdf. However, we did not have to all enter at the same time! The two who prefer to arrive early did so and were able to scan the .pdf…

  • Travel

    Pretend You are in the Edo Period at Toei Park in Kyoto, Japan

    June 22, 2024 - By 

    Toei Park, or TOEI Kyoto Studio Park, is a fake old-fashioned town where period dramas are sometimes filmed. They bill themselves as the only Jidaigeki theme park in Kyoto. (And they are authentic enough that jigaideki filming takes place here.) The park clearly provides side work for make-up artists and stunt actors through the live shows and the dress-up-like-an-Edo-Period-person experience. The park reminded me of a Renaissance Faire— but Edo period. I had a good impression of them from the beginning. Tickets without an attraction pass were JP¥2400 (~US$16.21 in 2023) per adult if in a group of 25 or…

  • Travel

    A Short Stroll Through the Cutler Botanic Garden in Binghamton, New York, US

    May 10, 2024 - By 

    The Cutler Botanic Garden is a small free-to-visit learning and research botanical garden in Binghamton, New York, in the United States. It is meant to help teach visitors about horticulture in self-guided tours with the help of signs that explain what is going on. Visiting in April is a sort of dead time, because of the natural cycle of the plants. For example, the Rose Path was still on its winter Thorn Path variation. However, there are still things to see as things are preparing to bloom or starting to grow— all of which are neatly labeled— and fun landscaping.…

  • Travel

    Nara (and the Deer)

    October 19, 2023 - By 

    Nara is a very nice town that has capitalized on the fact that the popular Nara deer reside there. Nara deer are known for being aggressive and mildly molesting humans in their pursuit of treats. As far as I can tell, one reason people still visit the deer is because the deer bow to you if you bow to them—- before they begin demanding their treats. It takes about 25 minutes to walk to Nara Kouen from the Nara Station. Some of it is uphill, but it is not very steep. There is also a bus you can take if…

  • Life

    Sesame Place and Longwood Gardens With Our 1-Year-Old

    September 21, 2022 - By 

    In the year that Young Sophie was 0-1, or 2022, we chose to buy a season pass for Sesame Place and a membership for Longwood Gardens. We also considered the Turtleback Zoo (https://turtlebackzoo.com/admission-hours/), which gives free admission to those under 2. Sesame Place We chose Sesame Place for a simple reason that I am sure many other parents of children aged 0-3 understand: Our child likes Sesame Street. And Elmo. Sesame Place grants free entry to those aged 23 months and younger. The cost of one visit with two adults and one baby would total something like $50 Tickets x…